After months of rumors and a handful of recent leaks, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch FE is official. Positioned as a more affordable entry point to Samsung’s Wear OS offerings, the Watch FE retails for $200 and looks an awful lot like the 2021 Galaxy Watch 4. Here’s what you need to know about the new Galaxy Watch FE.
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE: Design and display
The Samsung Galaxy Watch FE is available in a single 40mm size. It looks about the same as Samsung’s other Wear OS-based Galaxy Watch devices, with two hardware buttons and the Galaxy Watch signature tapered lugs. It’s available in Black, Pink Gold, and Silver colorways.
The single 40mm version comes with a 1.2-inch, 396 x 396 OLED display with bezels larger than we’re used to in Samsung’s recent wearables, but in like with the Galaxy Watch 4 the FE is built around. There is one significant materials upgrade here, though: the Galaxy Watch FE’s display is covered with a sapphire crystal glass, which should be more scratch-resistant than the glass used in the Watch 4.
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE: Fitness and health tracking
Source: Samsung
With the same BioActive Sensor as other recent Galaxy Watch models, Samsung Galaxy Watch FE tracks all the health metrics we’re used to Samsung’s watches tracking. It logs steps, sleep, and heart rate, and offers alerts for abnormally high or low heart rates. It can take ECG and, in regions where Samsung’s gotten approval, blood pressure measurements.
The Watch FE can track more than 100 different kinds of exercise and offers running analysis that evaluates your form and offers tips on how to improve. On the whole, the Watch FE’s health and fitness tracking looks in line with the experience offered by Samsung’s more premium wearables. Health data is logged in the Samsung Health app.
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Samsung Galaxy Watch FE: Hardware specifications
The hardware in Samsung’s Galaxy Watch devices has stayed pretty consistent since the Watch 4 debuted in 2021, with only minor updates year over year. The Watch FE takes that to its extreme: the hardware here is almost identical to what was offered in the Galaxy Watch 4. The Watch FE uses the same Exynos W920 chipset paired with a gig and a half of RAM, the same 1.2″ 396p OLED display, and the same 247mAh battery.
That might sound like a bad thing, but the Watch 4 has actually aged pretty gracefully, and even the latest Galaxy Watch 6 offers only a handful of modest improvements on the experience.
Specifications
- Case size
- 40mm
- Case Material
- Aluminum
- Display
- 1.2-inch AMOLED
- Display resolution
- 396×396
- CPU
- Exynos W920 Dual Core 1.18GHz
- RAM
- 1.5GB
- Storage
- 16GB
- Battery
- 247mAh
- Cellular connectivity
- LTE (LTE model only)
- Wi-Fi connectivity
- 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4+5GHz
- Connectivity
- NFC, GPS/Glonass/Beidou/Galileo
- Bluetooth
- 5.0
- Software
- One UI 5 Watch
- Health sensors
- Optical heart rate, electrical heart, bioelectrical impedance analysis
- Dimensions
- 40.4 x 39.3 x 9.8mm
- Weight
- 25.9g
- IP Rating
- IP68
- Strap size
- 20mm
- Colors
- Black, pink gold, and silver
- Price
- $200 (Bluetooth), $250 (LTE)
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE: Price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Watch FE will be available in a single 40mm size beginning June 24 for $199.99. A version with LTE connectivity will be available sometime before the end of the year for $249.99. The watch isn’t available for preorder yet, but we expect it’ll be sold in all the usual places: direct from Samsung, plus from retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and others.
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE: Maybe not cheap enough?
At $200, the Galaxy Watch FE does undercut Samsung’s flagship wearables by a considerable margin; the cheapest Watch 6 variant comes in at a $299.99 MSRP. The value proposition is a little by the fact that the Watch 6 is more or less always on sale. As of writing, Samsung’s flagship watch starts at $240 at many retailers, with smaller sellers offering it at prices that even undercut the FE.
Given Samsung’s track record of putting its wearables on sale early and often, we expect the FE will get its own price cuts sooner than later. But until then, you may be better off just going with the Watch 6, which offers a larger display and (presumably) better battery life.
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
The Galaxy Watch FE brings Samsung’s popular Fan Edition variant to its smartwatch line for the first time, offering a hardware package that focuses on what matters most in an effort to reduce frivolous costs. The result is a stylish timepiece that looks like the Galaxy Watch 6 for two-thirds of the asking price.
